


Band-Aids

by ArgentumAmour



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Anger, Band-Aids, Bill - Freeform, Bill Cipher - Freeform, BillDip, Dipper - Freeform, Dipper Pines - Freeform, Dipper Teaches Bill How To Be Human, Dorito, Hurt/Comfort, Lack Of Magic, M/M, pine tree
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 18:01:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5343344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentumAmour/pseuds/ArgentumAmour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill loses his magic due to a tragic accident. Dipper feels suddenly compelled to go into the woods in the middle of the night. What will become of this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dipper wandered around the forest, following the sounds of soft sobs. He had no idea as to what or who it could be, but something in his gut told him to follow the sound, find out who was crying in the middle of the woods at midnight.

The 19 year old author had been up late trying to find inspiration for the book he was writing, when the faint sound of whimpers through his open window caught his attention and compelled him to follow it. So here he was, middle of the night, in the forest, with a flashlight. The sound grew louder and louder as he stepped forwards, and he knew that he must be close to the source of the noise. 

"Hello? Who is it? Are you okay?" He called, an unexplainable feeling of concern churning in his stomach. He wondered why he was out here, why he even cared about the source of the noise. Pacifica Northwest, his sister's best friend, would probably call it fate. The sensible author didn't believe in such a thing. 

As he began to walk faster the crying sounded like it was right next to him, and looking down, he realized it was. 

Curled up into a ball at the trunk of the tree next to him, sobbing, was a man. Most likely a few years older than Dipper, he had blonde hair that looked messy and unkept, an unhealthily pale and thin frame, and various cuts and scrapes all over his body. His long, gangly limbs were tucked close to his body, pointy elbows sticking out. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a bright yellow hoodie, and even Dipper knew what an interesting fashion choice that was. 

But it wasn't until the tear streaked face looked up at him that something clicked. Bright, shiny, obviously inhuman golden eyes gazed sullenly back into his brown ones, and the author immediately knew who it was. 

He took a tentative step forward. "B-bill? Bill...........Cipher?" He asked shakily, heart thudding in his chest. For some reason he couldn't help but feel bad for the poor creature, eyes puffy from crying and every word punctuated with a hiccup. 

"What-*hic*-the hell-*hic*-do you-*hic*-want?" Bill choked out, wiping at his face with the back of his hand and straightening up. 

"I.......I heard crying and.......I felt like I needed to come......" Dipper stammered out, very unsure of what to say. He was quite shocked by this turn of events, and very curious about the fact that Bill was HUMAN.

With another unsure step forward, then another, the brunette found himself standing directly beside Bill. After that moment when he realized that the demon was unlikely to bite him, (or worse) he let himself slide down to sit next the the blonde, keeping a few inches of distance between them just in case. "What happened? You're......human" he observed, used to the triangular, bright golden glow of the demon's usual appearance. 

"Pine Tree.......they......they took away my powers......and now I'm stuck in one of these bodies....." Bill whimpered, face buried once again against his own knees, curled up into fetal position. 

The position Bill was in caused Dipper to vaguely wonder if demons had mothers, but he chose to quickly dismiss it. "That's........oh. What happened?" Dipper asked in a quiet and gentle voice, scooting a little bit closer to Bill.

"Two months ago........I accidentally blew up a planet. They took away my powers, my precious triangular form, and the only reason I didn't cease to exist is because I managed to conjure up this body as my powers were being drained away. But it's nearly impossible to be human. It hurts, it's cold, it's wet, it's dark, red liquid keeps pouring out of me, and right here-" he said, gesturing to his stomach "-keeps making a very unnatural growling noise." He finished, dropping his hand miserably back down by his side. 

The author gulped in concern, looking over the other man's thin, shaking frame. "That...........the last part means you're hungry, Bill. When was the last time you ate?" He asked, tilting his head in concern. 

"Ate? What does that mean?" The ex-demon asked, also tilting his head, but in confusion. 

Dipper bit his lip. 'This is going to be harder than I planned' he thought, leaning back against the tree and making a noise of frustration. "Would you like to come stay with us? Mabel and I could........we could try to teach you how to be human" he muttered, knowing it was a bad idea before the words even left his mouth. 

The ex-demon's eyes widened slightly as he looked back up at the brunette. "Really? Pine Tree, are you sure?" He asked, in complete disbelief.

"Well......I couldn't just leave you here to die. You can't just let yourself bleed out, or starve yourself, or whatever else you've been doing. You have to take care of yourself, or the body that you're in will die" Dipper explained a little shakily, still surprised that Bill was even able to take human form. "So you don't have any powers.........?"

"None at all. They all got taken away" the blonde muttered, stomping his foot against the ground like a child having a tantrum. 

Dipper chuckled nervously, gnawing away at his lips. That was a nervous habit he had picked up in high school, and even though Mabel strongly encouraged him to stop, he just could not break it. "Okay........calm down, dude" he stammered, awkwardly putting a hand on Bill's shoulder. The blonde's body was cold and bony, and he probably needed to see a doctor as soon as possible. For some mysterious reason Dipper felt that it was his responsibility to keep Bill from dying now. 

In one sudden, swift movement Bill leapt on top of Dipper, tackling him in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Pine Tree. I'm sorry I ever hurt your family and messed with you" he confessed, face buried in the author's shoulder. 

Dipper let out a squeak at the hug, face turning slightly red at the sudden physical contact he hadn't had from anyone but his sister in years. "It's okay.......it's okay......" He stammered out, trying to keep his tone soft and soothing instead of shaky and fearful. "Do you......can you walk? Are you strong enough? It's kind of a long way back to the shack......." He paused to dig in his pocket, then produced a granola bar. "Here, eat this" he said, even having the foresight to unwrap it before holding it out to Bill.

Bill took it and looked at it curiously "so you just......put it in your mouth and suck on it?" He asked, genuinely not knowing what to do.

Dipper blushed about 50 different shades of red at this comment. "You've......never eaten before?"

The ex-demon shook his head slowly, looking at the ground. He almost seemed to be embarrassed.

Dipper chuckled softly, face still slightly pink. "Okay.....just bite a piece off, and then chew it up."

Bill did as he was told, chewing quickly. Due to the lack of thorough chewing he choked a little bit on it as it went down. "Well, that pain was not hilarious" he said flatly, shakily attempting to stand up.

The brunette rushed to help him, gripping his arm to keep him from falling. "Ready to go see what Mabel has to say about this?" He asked, laughing nervously.

Bill slowly started moving forward, leaning against Dipper a little bit. "Oh no. Do you think she'll hate me?" He asked sadly, seeming truly worried about this thought.

"No.....she's quick to accept people. And you've changed. That's sure obvious" Dipper said, gesturing towards Bill's entire new body.

Bill nodded, and they walked back towards the Mystery Shack in companionable silence. As they approached the door the blonde froze, eyes widening. "Oh wow......it's been forever since I've been here...."

"It has. Are you ready to go in? It's cold out here" Dipper pointed out, opening the door. He couldn't help but hope that Mabel would also accept Bill, and the new arrangement would work.


	2. Bedtime

Before Dipper could open the door himself, Mabel swung it open.

She was still wearing her sparkly kitty cat pajamas, but she had on her sneakers as if she was about to go somewhere. 

"Wha~ Bill! Is that you?! Dipper, what the hamburger happened?!" She screamed, utilizing her silly habit of replacing swear words with food items.

"It's me, shooting star" Bill chuckled weakly, cocky as hell despite his weakened state. "An incident happened.......I don't have powers anymore. So I won't hurt you" he said calmly, holding his hands up.

Dipper nodded and mouthed the words IT'S TRUE to Mabel. "I found him in the woods. I heard him-"

The ex-demon cut him off by clapping a hand over his mouth and growling angrily. 

Dipper pried his hand off and stepped into the house, grabbing Bill's hand to pull him in.

"So now........can someone just explain to me what's happening so I can go back to bed? I need my beauty sleep" Mabel said indignantly, tucking a strand of her hair that had escaped from her braid behind her ear. 

"We'll tell you the long story in the morning, but all you need to know right now is.....I kind of took Bill in and now he's staying with us" the author confessed, cringing at his sister's shocked and fearful expression. "He can't hurt us, he doesn't have his powers anymore" he added quickly, biting his lip and looking towards the ground. His sneakers were an absolute muddy mess.

"I'm standing right here" Bill sighed, tapping his foot. 

"HEY! Be grateful that you have a place to stay!" Mabel yelled, voice rising in volume and pitch. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you~"

"I don't believe you! You caused an apocalypse that almost destroyed the town! You trapped me in an evil bubble!" She rambled, absolutely a ball of fury. 

"I'm SORRY, OKAY?!?!" 

"Calm down, calm down. We'll figure this out in the morning. Remember how we have that extra bed in the attic? That's where Bill can sleep. He doesn't even have to go in your room, Mabel." Dipper said calmly, starting to feel extremely tired. "And you can borrow something of mine to wear. Come on, dude" he said, grabbing Bill's arm once again and pulling him upstairs. 

"THIS ISN'T OVER!!!!" Mabel screamed after them.

"Thank you, Pine Tree. She's feisty as ever" the blonde sighed, following Dipper's lead into his, no THEIR, bedroom. 

"She really is. I mean, you don't have powers anymore so I don't know what she thinks you're actually going to DO to us" Dipper mumbled, digging around for a clean pair of shorts and a T-shirt, then tossing it at Bill.

Bill caught the clothes and headed towards the bathroom to change. "You'd be surprised, Pine Tree~" he called behind him.

"No. No. What. No." The author mumbled, in complete and utter shock. That couldn't mean anything, could it? He didn't have powers, for goodness sake! What exactly could he do.........?

After a few moments too long of Bill being in the bathroom, Dipper decided to go check on him. Shuddering at the thought of the last words Bill had said, he tentatively knocked on the door. "Bill? Everything all right in there?" He called through the door.

"Uh.........I'm just a little stuck" the blonde called, then opened the door up for Dipper. He had somehow managed to get the shorts on, but his shirt was in a tangled heap around his torso with two arms sticking out of it. 

Dipper couldn't help but giggle a little bit at the predicament the ex-demon was in. He took a cautious step forward and gripped the shirt, helping Bill wiggle his arms through the holes. 

"Thank you Pine Tree! So now it's time to sleep? That's the one human thing I know how to do. Being a dream demon and all, ya know" he rambled. 

"Yep. If you're inhabiting a human body you have to sleep, so let's go!" Dipper said, gently tugging Bill into the bedroom. The author was absolutely exhausted, considering it was 2 in the morning. Thank goodness that he could control his own schedule for the most part, being a writer. 

The blonde immediately collapsed onto the bed, curling into a tight ball beneath the covers. "Goodnight Pine Tree~" he murmured, already partially asleep. 

Dipper lay down on his back facing Bill. "Goodnight Bill. Sweet dreams."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing as fast as I can!! Thanks for all the kudos, you guys are the bomb.com


	3. The Night Can Be Dangerous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Dipper sings is 'Blue Lips' by Regina Spektor, and can be found right here http://youtu.be/ccZuKOTb6ug

Dipper was awoken in the middle of the night by the bed shifting next to him. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, rolling over to see what was going on. 

A dark figure was there, and his eyes had to adjust before he realized who it was. A sniffling, shaking Bill was crawling into bed next to him. 

"What? Bill, what are you doing?" The author stammered out, scooting over a little bit so the blonde could lie beside him.

Bill lay down and wrapped his arms around Dipper, clinging to him like a koala. "I had a nightmare......I've never had a nightmare before" he whimpered. 

The brunette was fully awake at this point, feeling a sudden surge of compassion as he realized the ex-demon was crying. "That happens to humans sometimes. I guess you've never had one because you've always been able to control them before."

Bill was shaking, breath coming out choked as he tried not to cry. "I really wish I wouldn't have given you humans nightmares before, now that I know what it feels like" he said softly, instinctively curling up against Dipper's side.

The physical contact made the author's heart flutter for some unknown reason. "I know, they really suck. Just try to go back to sleep, okay?"

After a moment of laying there, still shaky and very much awake, Bill suddenly whispered "can you sing to me, Pine Tree?"

With a sleepy nod Dipper began to sing. "Blue lips, blue veins, blue. The color of our planet from far, far away" he sang quietly, his tone soft but beautiful. It had a sort of rare majestic quality to it, and Bill was quickly finding himself slipping back into sleep.

The brunette stopped singing when he realized that the person curled up against him was asleep. Hesitantly, he draped an arm across Bill and pulled him closer. He sighed in relief when nothing bad happened, not that he knew what ill consequences could actually come from that action. 

That is how the boys slept that night, curled up against each other despite the warm temperatures. And both of them loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't post on Saturday! I had performances and stuff. Enjoy this quick little fluffy thing until I do a real update on Saturday :D


	4. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: graphic description of severe wounds. Not plot important, you can skip over it.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains of the attic, hitting Dipper's face and causing him to blink his eyes open blearily. At first he was confused by the warmth pressed against his body, and the he didn't get any less confused when he realized it was Bill. It took a moment for the events of the previous night to come flooding back to memory, and he let out a soft, relaxed sigh. Bill's body shifted against the author and sleepy golden eyes blinked up at him. "Morning.....already?" He yawned. "Yep. I think it's Wendy's turn to manage the Shack today, so we should be able to go into the nearest big city and buy you some clothes or something." Dipper said, propping his head up on his elbow. "What happened to Stanley?" The ex-demon asked curiously. This question seemed to pain Dipper, and sadness clouded his eyes. "He died. 2 years ago today, actually" he whispered, biting his lip. "Oh. Umm. Well, that's not funny." The blonde said, not quite sure how to respond to this. "No, it's not. But let's not worry about that right now" Dipper said quickly, wiping at his eyes. "I need to make sure you're okay. Physically, I mean. We might have to take you to the doctor." "I'm sure I'm fine, Pine Tree" the ex-demon sighed exasperatedly, sitting up. He winced as he stretched, proving Dipper's point. "Can I just......?" The brunette blushed and gently grabbed the edge of Bill's shirt, signaling without speaking that he wanted to look at the wounds. Bill nodded and shrugged, lifting his shirt to show Dipper how bad his injuries were. Across his chest were multiple scratches, dried blood crusting around the sides. He had a deep cut on his stomach that looked as if it were infected. And scattered in between the major injuries were a variety of small cuts and bruises. "See? Not that bad. I've done much worse to people" the ex-demon stated bluntly. "Bill........oh FUCK. This is really bad. We're definitely going to have to take you to the doctor. Are you okay for now?" Dipper said concernedly, tentatively touching one of the worse bruises. Bill hissed in pain, putting his shirt back down as soon as the author removed his hand. "Uh.....yeah. I'm fine. I guess pain isn't so hilarious when it's happening to me" he grumbled. "I can give you some Advil or something. We probably need to eat breakfast or something before we go. You're so skinny" the brunette commented. Just then, as if on cue, Mabel bounced in. "Okay, I stayed up all night thinking of a plan! Here's the deal, Mr. Cipher" she said formally, plopping down on the edge of the bed and rolling her eyes at the cuddly position they seemed to be in. Dipper blushed and scooted a bit away from bill, sighing at the confused, innocent, and slightly hurt look on his face. "We're going to take care of Bill. UNTIL he can live on his own. Then we'll send him off into the world and he'll never come back. Deal?" The girl asked bouncily, leaning forwards a bit. The blonde nodded wordlessly, giving Dipper an absolutely befuddled look. "Okay, Mabes. Sounds like a plan. But seriously, look at the poor guy. He hasn't eaten in at least two weeks. Let's FEED him before we disown him." Dipper sighed, crawling out of the bed. He hadn't changed out of his clothes the night before, and he immediately started stripping down to his boxers. Mabel nodded and left, fully intending to cook the boys a fantastic breakfast despite her concerns about Bill. Bill watched with interest as Dipper stripped down. "Are you gay?" He asked bluntly. "Good question. I'm asexual. But panromanic. So in theory, I would date you." The author said quickly, blushing at his poor choice of words. "What the hell does that even mean, Pine Tree?" The blonde retorted. Dipper sighed and rolled his eyes. "You don't even know how many times I've been asked that question" he mumbled. "Asexual means that I'm not sexually attracted to anyone. AKA, I'm not going to have sex with anyone. Ever. It's gross. And panromantic means that I'll date anyone. But NOT have sex with them. Or french kiss. Ew." "Okay then, Pine Tree. I didn't know that was a thing, but oh well!" Bill shrugged. "I'm gay. I think. Girls are gross." "Good for you" Dipper mumbled, tugging his head through the shirt with some difficulty. "Ready to go down and eat? You'll have to go in that, I'm not giving you any more of my clothes." "Yep!" Bill chimed, standing up quickly. He grabbed Dipper's hand and held onto it tightly, ignoring the annoyed grunt from the author They slowly made their way down the stairs, Bill having some difficulty considering he was pretty new to the walking thing. By the time Bill and Dipper rounded the corner into the kitchen, Mabel had already made coffee and she had eggs cooking on the stove. "Wow shooting star, this is great! Thank you!" The ex-demon chimed, sitting down and looking at the coffee. "Don't mention it. I just like to cook." She grumbled. Dipper chuckled a little bit at Bill's excitement over something as simple and ordinary as coffee. "Bill, seriously. Do you even know how to drink?" "You just suck on it" Mabel advised as she divided the fully cooked eggs into portions on plates. "Stop it Mabel, he'll end up spilling everywhere" Dipper sighed. "I'm not the one who wanted to keep him" she shrugged. "I HEARD THAT! And I can do this perfectly fine, thank you very much" Bill snapped. He shakily lifted his cup to his lips, sucking a little bit into his mouth. "You did it! I feel like I should be taking pictures or something!" Dipper bounced up and down a bit in his chair, unnaturally excited for Bill. "Just eat your food, you dorks" Mabel sighed as she set two of the plates on the table. She had decided to eat while standing at the counter so that she wouldn't have to be too close to Bill. The blonde stabbed the eggs with his fork and lifted it to his mouth without too much trouble. "I like stabbing things" he commented while chewing. "Don't talk with your mouth full" Dipper warned. He was already halfway through his food, considering he had been too busy writing to eat the previous day. "Stop eating so fast! You'll be done before me." Bill whined. He had a childish pout on his face, and it looked extremely pathetic. "It's not a big deal, you big Dorito. Not everyone can finish at the same time, like, ever." Mabel huffed, turning to face them. These words seemed to trigger something in Bill. His face immediately crumpled and he dropped his fork. "Wh-why........it's obvious that I'm NOT a Dorito anymore. And.......and why do you have to point it o-out?" He stuttered, lower lip trembling. "Mabel! What did you do?!" Dipper shrieked as he stood up and made his way towards Bill. It was all too much. Painful flashbacks were flashing through Bill's head, desperately trying to make a body so that he wouldn't cease to exist as his powers were being drained. He darted up the stairs, unsure what else to do. He couldn't be around people. It was 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I swear to god this was finished a week ago but I was too lazy to post it. I'm sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay guys, this is my first ever fic so bear with me. Thank you to anyone who read this!


End file.
